The multi-year effort to remove lead-covered telecommunications cables from Lake Tahoe is now complete.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe made the announcement on Thursday - serving as both an environmental watchdog and partner to AT&T in the removal process.
“This is a major milestone for Lake Tahoe,” said the League to Save Lake Tahoe’s Chief Strategy Officer Jesse Patterson. “We are grateful that AT&T did the right thing for the Lake Tahoe environment and honored that the League could play an instrumental role to Keep Tahoe Blue for all.”
The cable removal project was conducted by AT&T’s specialty marine services contractor, J.F. Brennan Company.
Divers, biologists and archaeologists helped remove the cables from the Lake bottom without disturbing water quality, aquatic life, or Tahoe’s natural setting.
The removed cables are being transported out of the Tahoe Basin to be recycled.
The League says cables were first brought to the organization's attention by the environmental non-profit Below the Blue, which then worked together to map the extent of the cables in Lake Tahoe.
(League to Save Lake Tahoe contributed to this report.)
